


comfortably numb

by demonhunterknight



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Major Character Injury, Meme Lord Peter Parker, Protective Steve, Protective Steve Rogers, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:07:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23093809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demonhunterknight/pseuds/demonhunterknight
Summary: Tony overworks himself, he's always exhausted, Steve begs him to take a break. But does our genius listen. Of course not. But lack of sleep means lack of concentration.An often fatal mistake while on a mission.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 13
Kudos: 63





	1. Chapter 1

To say that Tony had been awake for a while would be an understatement.

He had been awake for days.

His eyes were sore, tinged red around the edges from the amount of times he’d rubbed at them, desperately trying to keep himself awake, and they dropped slightly over time, ever so slightly touching his lower eyelid, until his shook his head and blinked himself awake, rubbing his brow with his forefinger, and returning his attention back to the screen. He blinked twice, trying to focus on the cursor that flashed at him from the screen, the light illuminating his face, and pricking at his eyes, making his wish he’d close them.

His entire body _ached._ His limbs were sore, and every motion jarred his body, his back was in agony, he hadn’t changed from his sitting position in at least four hours, and if he tried to move it he feared he’d do some damage, his fingers were tense, and simply curling them made his bones creak, they were stiff and as he typed at his keyboard the tips became number and number as he did.

He pushed some paper to the side, to make room for his elbow, and several paper coffee cups clattered to the floor, Tony barely glanced at them, as he spoke out a command.

“Jarvis, run diagnostics” He says, his words slurring slightly, and the AI responds accordingly, around 16 hours earlier the AI had attempted to get Tony’s attention, warning him that going hours without rest the caffeine he’d ingested was unhealthy and he needed to get some rest. But he’d simply shook his head, muttered under his breath and continued to type.

A fresh wave of air wafted through the lab, hitting Tony in the back, wafting loose strands of hair into his vision, he pushed them back, and continued to type. Until a voice pulls him out of his routine.

“Stark?” It echoes through the room, bouncing off the walls, and seeming ten times louder than it actually was to Tony, he groaned softly, massaging his temples, and glancing over to the doorway, as yellow light pooled into the lab room. He frowns and lets out a breath.

“Rogers” He responds, before returning his attention back to his screen. The man steps into the room and looks around grimacing as the smell hits him.

“What died in here?” He asked, and Tony didn’t respond at first, then glanced from his screen.

“Huh? What? Oh, just.. you know… coffee…. Probably” He mumbles, his words pooling out in uncoordinated sentences. Steve looks at him his eyes softening when he takes in the full view of the genius.

“Tony, how long have you been in here?” He asks, and Tony glances at him for a brief second before looking back at the screen.

“Not sure, what umm… what’s the word, day, day, what day is it?” He questions, reaching a hand to grasp it around a cup of coffee, and bringing it to his lips, not bothered by the fact that it was cold, and had probably sat in the room for a few hours at least.

“Tuesday, Tony, Geez how long?” Steve asks, letting out a sigh and pulling a chair towards Tony, so he could sit. The man looks at him sceptically.

“Tuesday? Oh, I thought it was Sunday” He says, and Steve stares at him.

“You’ve been in here since Sunday?” He repeats, incredulously, and Tony swivels in his chair to face him.

“Saturday, actually, at least I think it was” He says, and then swivels back round to his seat, but Steve places a hand on his chair.

“Tony, you need sleep, and to get out of this room at least” He says, and watches as Tony shakes his head, pointing a shaky finger at the screen and mumbling. Steve tilts his head, and then stands, pulling Tony’s chair away from the screen, earning protests from him in response.

“Nonononono, I’m almost done, just a few more hours” He whines, his hands reaching out in an attempt to grab the monitor, but Steve pulls him to his feet, and Tony stands for the first time in a while. Stumbling forward almost instantly afterwards, Steve places a hand on his shoulder to steady the man but he brushes it away, mumbling.

“I’m fine, go away Rogers” He says, and Steve shakes his head.

“Come on Stark, bed. Now” He says, in as much of a commanding voice as he can. Tony looks up at him and casts a small grin.

“You know, at least buy me a coffee first” He almost slurs. And Steve tries not to smile.

“I think you’ve had more than enough coffee, come on” He says, walking towards the door, but Tony doesn’t follow him, and Steve turns around to see him back in his seat again, he shakes his head and walks back to him, physically lifting the smaller man out of his chair and slinging him over his shoulder. The man calls out a cry of protest.

“Hey! Put me down Rogers!” He says, hitting the back of Steve’s back with balled fists, but the soldier doesn’t respond and keeps on walking until he’s out of the lab and in the corridor, he feels Tony tense up at the exposure to the light from the corridor, and hide his face in the back of Steve’s shirt, hearing a mumble of ‘too bright’ as he continues to walk up the stairs until he reaches Tony’s floor.

When he gets through the door he finally puts Tony down, the shorter man stumbling slightly when his feet hit the carpeted floor of his bedroom.

He reaches for the bed post, and his fingers curl around the edge when they come into contact with the cool metal, and he almost lets out a relieved sigh.

Steve stands a few feet behind him, watching, as the genius stands, hunched by the bed.

“Here” He says, stepping forward, moving towards his dresser, pulling out a clean shirt, and a pair of boxers, before handing them to Tony, who looks at the clothes and then at Steve, and cracked a half smile.

“Trying to get me naked huh?” He drawls, and Steve shakes his head, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Get changed, Tony” He says, before turning around and leaving the room, giving the man time to get changed before he sees Tony appear in the doorway.

“I’m not naked now, if you must know” He informs, and Steve nods, turning to face Tony, following him into the room, and as Tony clambers into bed. He speaks.

“Get some rest, you need it” He says, and Tony mumbles a response, Steve nods and turns, heading back towards the door.

“Goodnight” He calls out, flicking off the light switch, and from the room all hears is the words.

“G’night, love you” Echo back at him, and he stops. His breathing hitches as he stands in the doorway, staring at the bed.

“What?” He stutters, waiting for Tony to repeat what he said and confirm that he hadn’t misheard him.

But he was already asleep, and the soft snores of Tony Stark floating towards the doorway, and Steve sighs, shaking his head.

 _It’s because he’s tired_. He tells himself.


	2. it's my fault

The next morning Tony’s walking around the kitchen, and the avengers seem somewhat confused.

“Hey, Tony, good to see you out of that lab” Sam comments, and Clint hums in agreement, the scientist turns around, a coffee mug in hand, and shrugs.

“I’ll probably get right back on it later” He says, just as Steve walks into the room, stopping when he sees the scientist, and turning away, not quite meeting his gaze, and Tony frowns.

“What’s wrong with you Capsicle, no speeches or orders this morning?” He asks, and Steve shakes his head.

“I don’t give speeches in the morning” He argues, and Clint shrugs.

“Sometimes you do” He says, and Tony points at the archer, nodding

“See, birdbrain agrees” And Clint sighs, placing his hands down on the counter as he stands up.

“Well I take back what I said now” He moans, and Tony grins, and then shrugs.

“Anyhow, Fury says we have a mission” And Clint groans, and Steve nods.

“When’s briefing?” He asks, and Tony shrugs, before rubbing his eyes.

“An hour” Tony responds, and Steve frowns.

“Are you even fit to go?” He accuses, and Tony glares at him.

“Of course I am, why wouldn’t I be?” He scoffs, and Steve rolls his eyes.

“Aside from the fact you haven’t slept in the past few days?” He states, and Tony shrugs, pouring the remainder of the coffee that was in his mug down the sink, he turns to Steve and sighs.

“I’m fine” He encourages, and Steve doesn’t believe him, he stands for a moment, taking in his sunken eyes, and tousled hair, and then turns away.

“Well then. Meeting room in 40 minutes” He says, giving up, leaving the room, and Tony watches after him, his gaze drifting ever so downward slightly.

“Hate to see you go…. Love to watch you leave” He mutters under his breath, and then trails off, following after him, heading towards the briefing room. May as well get there early he thought.

As he reaches the board room, he sees Steve already inside, deep in conversation with Nick Fury, and Tony stands by the door eavesdropping.

“I just don’t think he should go on this one” He hears Steve says, and he frowns, were they talking about him?

“I’m not sure Rogers, we need him on this” Fury replies, and Steve huffs, before Tony steps into the room, and both men stop. He leans against the doorframe and raises a brow.

“Who you talking about spangles?” He asks, and Steve frowns slightly.

“Nothing” He says, and Tony scoffs.

“Don’t bullshit me Rogers, I heard you” He spits, and Steve looks taken aback.

“I just think it’s the best interest for you, and the team, if you sit this one out” He argues, and Fury watches the confrontation, amusement written on his face.

“Cut the crap, I’m going, whether you like it or not” Tony says, and the room is silent,

“Fine” Steve says finally, shattering the silence “But if you get yourself, or anyone else injured, that’s on you” He says, turning to look out of the window, and Tony shrugs.

“Sure, whatever” He says, and takes a seat at the table, just as a few other avengers walk into the room, they look between Steve and Tony suspiciously, sensing that something has happened, and take their places at the table.

“Right, now that everybody’s here, likes get this shit over with” Fury says, and turns to face a big screen.

“In simple words, we found another HYDRA base, plan is, to infiltrate it, take out the guards, and access any information that may be considered useful. Rogers and Stark will be on the front line, you two need to get inside the building, Roger’s will be taking out anybody, and Stark, you’re getting the info. Now, the other guy, Nat, and Clint, will be on the outside, taking out any guards or HYDRA workers, IF, you think one of them is important, bring them in. and once the outside’s been taken care off, start on the inside, and Thor, you just do whatever it is that you do” Fury explains, and they nod, and Fury nods back, before standing there.

“Well? What the fuck are you waiting for? Get out!” He raises his voice, and the avengers stand, leaving the room, heading towards the jet bay.

Steve sighed as he takes his seat in the quinjet, watching as Tony stood near the pilots area, leaning against one of the metal walls, staring at him accusingly, keeping eye contact, until Clint perked up.

“Hey, are you two, gonna stop your whole eye thing, it’s like you’re undressing each other with your eyes” He says, sticking out his tongue in mock disgust, and Steve turns his head away. Until Tony speaks.

“Trust me, the last thing I’d want to undress is spangles” He says, and Steve mutters under his breath.

“Not what you said last night” And unfortunately, Nat heard him.

“What’d you do last night?” She asks, and his head shoots up, looking at Nat, and he shakes his head at her, causing her to smirk.

“Nothing” He says, and turns his gaze back towards the floor. Tony watches him now, frowning, trying to remember what happens, and then he realises.

He hadn’t walked himself to his bedroom.

He watched the man carefully, trying his best to think of what happened and then it hit him.

**_G’night, I love you_ **

He cursed at himself silently, _shit, shit, shit_ , he thinks, and turns his head away, why the fuck did he say that, and he takes in a deep breath.

 _Maybe he hadn’t heard, I mean, it’s not like you said it really loud or anything_ he thinks and then nods, yeah, he hadn’t heard it. Otherwise he’d of mentioned it right…? Right?

Definitely. He reassures himself, and then turns when he hears Bruce speak.

“Hey, guys, we’re here” He says, and the avengers stand, readying themselves as the jet prepares to land, and he feels a hand on his shoulder. He turns to see Steve standing there.

“Be careful” He says, softly, barely a whisper, and Tony nods, not knowing what to say, before shrugging his hand away from him and heading towards the exit.

“Whatever capsicle” He says, and suits up, closing the helmet over his face as he turns away. Steve nods, and picks up his shield.

“Let’s do this” He says into his earpiece, and he hears a rumble of response from the rest of the team.

Steve’s shield connects with a guards chin as he forces it upwards, knocking the man out of his way, and he hits the ground with a thud and a grunt of pain, and Steve moves forward, taking out more of the guards, deflecting their bullets as they fired at him, he turned to see Tony by the entrance, forcing the door open with his suit. And when it swings open he turns and signals to Steve, motioning for him to follow him, which he does, and as they enter the building a horde of HYDRA guards swarm forward, opening fire on the two of them.

A few moments later and they’re all dead. Bodies slumped against the wall as they move forward, and they finally reach the lab they’ve been searching for. And as they enter, Tony gets out of his suit, and Steve shoots him a look which he returns.

“Can’t type in my suit spangles” He says, and Steve nods, looking around the room, for any access points any other guards could enter from. And Tony moves towards the computers, pulling out a USB stick from his pocket, and shoving it into the drive, he bends over, typing away at the keyboard, and then looks up at Steve.

“It’s encrypted, not very well though, should take me a few minutes to crack” He says, and Steve nods, as Tony continues to clack at the computer keyboard, his gaze flicking from the keyboard to the screen. And Steve continues to stand on guard.

Then, from the corner of the screen Tony sees a glint from behind him, he turns, slowly, and sees the guard, and his gaze goes from the guard to where his gun is pointing.

Steve.

He can’t speak, his mouth numb, and his lungs tightening, and all he can do is move forward, a hand reaching out, clenching Steve by the shoulder, and pushing him behind him, at the same time the gun fires.

He doesn’t feel it when he hits the floor, nor does he hear Steve shout his name, all he can hear is the sharp ringing of a whistle, and then the shaking of his hands, the shortness of breath, and he can hear a voice. Shouting, was it Steve? Somebody. He squints up at the harsh lighting of the room, and feels a pair of strong hands pull him up, and pressing against his chest.

“Tony.. Tony” It repeats, and he blinks twice, looking up to see Steve’s panicked face staring back down at him, he coughs, feeling a warm liquid falling down his chin, and Steve’s face falls.

“No, no, no, no” He repeats, pulling him to his feet, and pressing a hand to his earpiece.

“Evac, we need evac… it’s Stark, he’s been shot” He repeats, tripping over the words, as he scoops the man into his arms, placing his shield on his back, and Tony shakes his head.

“The USB” He mutters, and Steve shakes his head.

“It’s not important” He says, and Tony mutters.

“Please…” He coughs again, blood trailing from the corner of his mouth, and Steve swears, spinning around and quickly pulling the drive from the computer, and he hears Tony chuckle, a horrible sound, as the sound of gurgling blood follows it.

“Language” He whispers, softly, and looks up at Steve and down at his chest.

“I’m going to die” He says suddenly, and Steve shakes his head.

“No. you’re not” He says, not sure who he was trying to reassure, as he moved out of the room, sprinting down the corridor with Tony in his arms, and as he reaches the door he sees Clint waiting there for them, and his face drops when he sees Tony.

“Shit” He mutters, before ushering him towards the jet, and as the climb the ramp, the other avengers stand there, motionless, as they watch Steve place Tony down on side.

“We need…. We need” He mumbles, not quite sure what to say, he needed Tony to be okay, he needed him to be, otherwise he didn’t know what he was going to do, he felt his chest tighten and was pulled out of his thoughts as Bruce placed a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s gonna be okay” He says, and pulls out a med kit, leaning down to attend to Tony. As the jet takes off.

Steve steps back, sitting down next to Tony, as he tries to speak, Bruce shushing him, and then he feels Tony’s hand on his. He looks down, to see Tony watching him through half open eyes, and he takes his hand, grasping it in his own, and the man smiles at him. Steve can’t smile back, the man in front of him grimacing in pain the second that Bruce touched the area near his wound.

“It’s my fault” He whispers, and Tony frowns, trying to shake his head, and he ignores it. “I should have been paying attention” He says, and Bruce speaks.

“It’s no ones fault but HYDRA’s” He says, and Steve shakes his head. Looking down at Tony sadly.

“It’s mine”


	3. I don't know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops forgot this thing existed

Steve hadn’t slept, he’d been forcing himself to stay awake, sitting there waiting, for Tony do to something, anything, move a finger, or furrow his brow.

But he was still.

The only thing that reassured him the man wasn’t dead was the steady beep of the heart monitor, which had already fallen silent twice, falling from the sharp dips and curves of a beating heart, to the silence shattering, heart breaking straight line, and Steve had sworn his heart had stopped beating at the same time Tony’s did.

But they got him back, both times, and Steve had vowed not to leave his side, just to be sure it didn’t happen again.

The others had told him to sleep, that the nurses would monitor over him, but he had shook his head, and sat down beside him, not moving since.

He blinked twice, letting out a sigh, before looking at Tony.

He should have been watching.

If he had Tony wouldn’t be like this, wouldn’t of technically _died_ twice already.

And he wouldn’t be having a mental breakdown.

He ran a hand through his hair, slumping down in his chair, the sharp sting of tears pricking corner of his eyes, he let out a sharp strangled noise that he couldn’t describe and began to cry.

His breathing hitched as his shoulders shook, he desperately wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand in an attempt to stop himself from crying, but it didn’t work, and he couldn’t explain the sudden outburst of tears.

And then he heard a voice.

“What’s got you all upset capsicle?” A croaky voice called from next to him, and his head shot the side, staring at the bed where Tony rested, and he saw Tony smirking next to him.

“Tony” He said, about to stand, and Tony shook his head, before attempting to push himself up into a sitting position before Steve placed a hand on his chest.

“You need to lay down” He said, pushing him back gently onto his pillow and Tony scoffed.

“I’m fine spangles, I just need to sit up” He says, before attempting to do so again, before letting out a grunt of pain as he did, and then laying back down himself.

“Yeah okay” He muttered, wincing as he bought his hand up to touch his side, before Steve grabbed it, and Tony shot him a look.

“What?” He asked, and Steve sighed.

“Don’t touch it” He said, and Tony shook his head.

“You’re not my mother, you can’t tell me what to do” He mocked, and Steve watched him.

“Tony” He warned lowly, and Tony’s gaze flicked to him.

“Oh I like it when you say my name like that” He jests, and Steve frowns confused, and Tony keeps talking. “It’s makes all tingly inside” He winks, and Steve turns away, Tony laughing next to him, but wincing a short moment after at the pain it caused.

Steve turns to look at him, a soft frown on his face, and he begins to stand.

“I should get the nurse” He mumbles, placing a hand on the side of his chair and pushing himself up. Tony says nothing, just watching as Steve moves, and heads towards the door, who glances back at him, before leaving.

A few seconds later Rhodey steps into the room, smiling at Tony.

“So you’re finally awake huh?” He asks, and Tony nods to his friend.

“Yeah, best sleep I’ve had in a while” He jokes, and Rhodey shakes his head, chuckling.

“How are you feeling?” He asks, and Tony shrugs.

“I’m fine” He says, knowing he is not, and that every movement hurts his body, but he smiles to Rhodey regardless, he doesn’t need him to worry. Rhodey smiles at him and sits down where Steve was a few moments ago.

“We thought we lost you back there” He said and Tony frowned.

“What do you mean?” He asks, and Rhodey looks at him.

“Your heart stopped. Twice” He tells him, and Tony stares, before laughing.

“Ok very funny Rhodey” He smiles before stopping at the look on his friend’s face, and he frowns.

“Really?” He asks, and Rhodey nods. Before looking sympathetically at Tony.

“Steve was there, both times” He starts, looking back at the door in case he was standing there and then turned back.

“He hasn’t slept, the man barely eats, he only sits next to you Tony… What’s going on with the two of you?” He asks, but he doesn’t reply, he just stares down at his hands, before muttering quietly.

“I don’t know”


End file.
